Grodno Azot to be sold to Russian company

The state-owned Belneftekhim is ready to sell the controling shares in Grodno Azot joint stock company to a Russian company, Moscow-based newspaper Izvestiyareports, referring to the letter from Belarusian PM Mikhail Myasnikovich to Russian PM Dmitri Medvedev.

According to the Russian newspaper, EuroChem has been in talks with Belarus for five years to acquire the Belarusian company.

The sale of several Belarusian companies like Grodno Azot, Minsk Wheeled Tractor Plant and Peleng could be a compensation to Russia for the losses in unpaid customs duties from Belarus' exports of petrochemical products disguised as solvents and thinners, experts suggest.